Hawaii task force seizes 16 tons of illegal fireworks
COURTESY HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT
These illegal aerial fireworks were seized in a shipment last week.
COURTESY HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT
This combination image shows illegal aerial fireworks that were seized in a shipment last week.
The Illegal Fireworks Task Force, operating under the Department of Law Enforcement, seized a shipment of about 16 tons of illegal aerial fireworks in Honolulu late last week, the department announced in a press release Wednesday.
Almost all of the seized fireworks consisted of “multi-shot ‘cakes’ or launchers capable of firing multiple fireworks into the air in long consecutive strings of fire,” the department said in the press release. An investigation into the illegal fireworks is ongoing.
The Illegal Fireworks Task Force was established in July and is coordinated by the department, but also comprises state narcotics agents, deputy sheriffs, county police officers, the Department of the Attorney General, and other federal agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The task force has been “actively investigating illegal fireworks in our community,” and has collected over 35,000 pounds of fireworks since its creation, according to the press release. The task force will continue its efforts to pursue illegal fireworks and those who traffic them.
